There are several songs in popular movie musicals that refer to the hope and promises of tomorrow. Perhaps one of the most popular examples of this is the song “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” from the musical Annie.

In the musical, the orphan Annie sings this song after she escapes the orphanage in an attempt to find her parents, after she and the other girls residing in the facility have been harshly punished by the cruel orphanage owner, Miss Hannigan. She sings about how thinking about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and sorrow and how much she loves tomorrow, as it’s only a day away.

On the other hand, there is a verse like this in the song “(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky” from the movie-musical Mary Poppins Returns. This song is sung by the character Jack, a leery, who is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and meant to be a foil to Dick Van Dyke’s character, the beloved chimney sweep Bert, in the 1964 movie Mary Poppins. During the scene in which this song is sung, the day has just begun, and Jack is riding his bike through the streets, lighting the streetlamps and singing about how lucky he feels to be beneath the titular Lovely London Sky, when he reaches one specific verse discussing the promises and hope of tomorrow:

So while we may feel stressed with the worries of today and what tomorrow will bring, it is crucial to focus on living in the now, as the promises and hope of tomorrow are always only a day away and will bring something new, and as mentioned in today’s verse, each day has enough troubles of its own, and when the sun sets on one day, those problems will be the problems of yesterday, and we are then allowed to focus on a new day.

God, while it can be overwhelming living in the now with some days filled with more troubles than others. Help us to remember to worry about the day that is in front of us now, as the sun will always come out tomorrow, and the promises of that day will worry about themselves. Please help guide us if we are lost in our worries of each day. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

There are different seasons in our lives. When I was a young boy, I thought as a young boy. All I could think about was receiving my long list of wants. I believed that all would be right with the world if only I had a certain toy or bike. Birthday and Christmas gifts? Did they make my life more fulfilling? Actually, they only provided a short-lived, very brief, intense excitement. We humans do pray for a lot of things, no matter our age. We may pray for safety, health, love, or even good grades.

My next memorable season was being noticed by girls. I hoped I looked more like a young man, and I just knew getting my driver’s license would be all I needed. Hurry up, turn 16, get my license, and I could already visualize myself cruising around town. However, what I didn’t know was the expectations of this season from my parents. Responsibility was being taught, and paying for my own gas was a reality. Dating was next, a long-awaited season. Asking a girl out was so awkward and made me nauseous. Rejection was on my mind. I prayed to be as cool as a cucumber, but that didn’t always happen. At least, I only had one time where I opened the car door for my date and it sprung back and hit her in the head.

My senior year was a new season. After changing schools, I decided to march in the high school band and began with summer practice. As practice started, I nervously arrived in the band room and was greeted by a beautiful young lady who gave me a comforting “hello” that touched my heart. We talked, and I found the courage to ask her out while nervously praying for a yes.

The good news, my soon-to-be girlfriend said yes. After our first date, I went home, sat on my parents’ bed, and confidently told them I had found the girl I would marry. A new season! Here we are 52 years later with 2 grown children, 5 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild. We have been blessed to be happily married. It takes hard work daily and is not always milk and honey. We are a praying family and have found many serious things to pray about over the many seasons of our life together. Our now adult son experienced a life-threatening car accident as a teenager. I found myself praying for his life and the gifts he has to offer to the world. As the seasons have passed, we realize just how blessed we have been to have watched his faith provide a strong Christian impact on his students.

Another season we have lived through is the loss of our parents and then the turning point of becoming empty nesters. Through those years of parenting, we worked diligently with our children to prepare them for life and their own seasons to come. There is a time to prepare them to handle life and then a time to let them go. We have also been blessed to love and care for many pets. Sadly, they have such short lives, and yet they were wonderful examples of faith, loyalty, love, and comfort on days they sensed were hard days for us. Our love for them started the day they joined our family and continued until we gave them the last kiss, pat, and hug as we said goodbye. The end of another beautiful season.

And now, we are in this new season. A season of reflection and examination. Not the last season, but one of appreciating the seasons we have shared. From our childhoods, through our young adult years, middle age years, and now older adult years, we truly know, “for everything there is a season”. We are blessed and look forward to God’s plans for this time.

Loving God, you tell us there is a time for every activity under heaven. Let this be our season to love, not hate; show civility, be generous, serve more, complain less, be supportive, spend more time with family, be less self-centered, be better parents and grandparents, be more...